huitlacoche ravioli?

[Veggo]

I bought a 7 oz. can of huitlacoche. I don't expect it to taste anything like the fresh in Mexico I was spoiled with, but I want to try something with it and I'm not sure what. Any ideas?

[sbp]

I've made calamari stuffed with huitlacoche and a bit of masa/tamale filling. Sort of riffs on black squid ink, so it works well visually. Tastes good too. Serve with pico de gallo.

[tmso]

I had some great success with huitlacoche mezzalune (close enough), made with canned stuff (that I paid 6 € for, ouf!). Kind of a trainwreck of fusion cooking, but I cooked the huitlacoche with shallot and white wine for 10 min, then made the stuffing for the mezzalune from that, chopped boiled egg yolks, and grated aged mimolette. Served with a sauce from roasted poblanos, almond puree, and a bit of cream.

[piccola]

I once had a transcendent huitlacoche omelette at an otherwise blah trendy restaurant. I've been looking for a can of the stuff ever since to recreate the dish at home.

[Rubee]

Like MMRuth, I've made some tasty quesadillas with it.

Speaking of huitlacoche ravioli - I was married in Mexico, and was so disappointed when I saw the Americanized wedding menu choices, i.e, salmon, filet, ziti, etc. However, I had a wonderful chef who sat down and allowed me to help create a custom menu with him using Mexican ingredients. He said it was the most fun he'd had with a wedding menu. I LOVED the food at our wedding, and it was a big hit with our guests too. For our pasta course, we came up with huitlacoche and Oaxacan cheese ravioli with flor de calabaza puree, garnished with strips of guajillo pepper. It was delicious. Pic from the tasting:

[Sam Fujisaka]

DING!!! Veggo, you have the winner!!!

[kattyeyes]

What a wonderful menu! Where in Mexico did you get married and who/where was the chef?

[Rubee]

Thanks! As a Chowhound, food was a priority of course, and I had so much fun working on the menu. We had a small destination wedding (50 guests) so were able to splurge and have it at the Ritz.

I posted the full menu on an earlier wedding food thread -

Everyone really enjoyed it , even some of the meat-and-potato relatives, because the exotic ingredients were used in familiar ways.

I had a few passed hors d'ouevres included baby shrimp ceviche with tequila served in shells, oysters topped with crispy chorizo, and mini queso tarts. In addition to passed hors d'ouevres, during the outdoor cocktail hour (complete with a fantastic 10-piece mariachi band!), we arranged for a sopes and quesadilla bar where all the tortillas were hand-made and cooked in front of the guests.

To start - seafood ceviche with smoky chipotle vinaigrette and crispy tortilla strips served in martini glasses
Pasta course - huitlacoche and queso Oxaca ravioli with flor de calabaza puree and guajillo pepper
Intermezzo - Guanabana sorbet with tequila honey
Main - E got his 'surf and turf' but it was dried chili-crusted filet mignon and grilled lobster tail with tamarindo glaze, and a cilantro potato cake
Dessert - Chocolate "Chichen Itza" with rompope sauce, mint, and fresh fruit.

The cake? Well Pina Colada of course ; )

Happy memories, thanks for reminding me!

[kattyeyes]

As one of my good friends says, "Wow-wow-ee!" Thank god dinner is not too far off. That post has made me especially hungry! What a magnificent feast from beginning to end...I am seriously salivating. Many happy anniversaries to come!

[Veggo]

Great ideas, the Oaxacan cheese and the squash/pumpkin blossom sauce. Now I really have a tiger by the tail, getting this to happen. Your photo is extraordinary; I want to magnet it to my fridge.
Mil gracias!

[alkapal]

didn't you post this joke a day too early, my dear veggo?

~~~~
ohhhhh, you're NOT joking, are you?

and for those of you who wonder what huitlacoche is, here is a primer: http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/...

[chef chicklet]

I will never achieve the level of gourmet/exoctic food expertise and appreciation as you all. I just know it.

[Veggo]

Au contraire, CC, you are WAY ahead of me; I love your posts.

[chef chicklet]

Oh, so kind of you. Thanks!

[Veggo]

Hey, A, some good things come in black - truffles, caviar, huitlacoche, dresses for bejeweled women. The stuff is delicious. Wear a blindfold if you must. My ladyfriend in D.F. would make a casserole that was sort of enchiladas, with huitlacoche in the filling, and in a thick sauce that smothered everything. We would joyfully scavenge every tiny town in Guanajuato and Michoacan and buy all the huitlacoche we could find, from the little ladies selling it on the sidewalks. It is edible black gold.
That America spent millions of tax dollars to eradicate it.......I won't go there.

[Sam Fujisaka]

En chiles rellenos

[LES_Crawler]

I may be a dolt, but I don't taste a huge difference in huitlacoche fresh and canned once you've incorporated it into a dish. I've added canned huitlacoche to enchiladas to pep them up some, which works great, but never tried using them in ravioli. That actually sounds promising. It doesn't take much of them to really add a lot of flavor to enchiladas.

[kattyeyes]

I would swear I had enchiladas with it at Rosa Mexicano in NYC years ago. Checked their menu and didn't find it, but did find the following, which you might want to try:

Rollo de Pechuga
Chicken breast filled with huitlacoche. Sautéed and served sliced with a chile poblano sauce.

Ravs sound good, too.

[Veggo]

Nice way to add flavors to otherwise bland chicken breasts! A pureed roasted poblano (my favorite chili) cream sauce is easy enough. Gracias!

[Den]

OK, I give, what is huitlacoche?

[MMRuth]

It's a delicious fungus that grows on corn.

[Veggo]

It's a dark, blackish-blue fungus that sometimes grows on corn. The US spent millions to eradicate it here, but it can be found in Mexico and is quite a delicacy when it is fresh. (My little can was something over $4).

[Den]

Is it like tartufo?

[swamp]

Kind of hard to describe but it is really good. I usually buy a can or two while in Mexico.

[JohnE O]

It's nightmare fuel, by the look of it. (Search thesneeze.com for a "product review". Not safe for work).

[MMRuth]

I've made huitlacoche quesadillas that were pretty decent using canned huitlacoche.

[floretbroccoli]

Recipe for huitlacoche quesadillas from Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, via Gourmet: http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/diaryo...

[Veggo]

Nice recipe. I usually add some sort of sauce or topping to quesadillas because they can be a little dry and can use a little more "pretty"; I'm thinking of just a thin warm fresh tomato sauce as there are plenty of flavors inside. Thanks for the recipe.